"Summer Moved On" is a song by Norwegian band

a-ha A-ha (often stylised as ''a''-h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ros ...

, released as the group's first single in more than six years. The lead single from their sixth studio album, ''

Minor Earth Major Sky ''Minor Earth Major Sky'' (stylised as ''minor earth major sky'') is the sixth studio album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 14 April 2000 by Warner Music Group, WEA. Background and release Following the release of a-ha's fifth studio album, ...

'' (2000), the song was released in Europe on 25 March 2000 by

WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of th ...

and was given a UK release on 22 May 2000. It was originally hastily written after a-ha agreed to a one-time reunion at the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

concert in 1998. The song became a number-one radio hit in much of Europe, including topping the chart in the band's native Norway. On the song,

Morten Harket Morten Harket (; born 14 September 1959) is a Norwegian singer who is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop band A-ha. A-ha has released 11 studio albums as of 2024, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough hit "Take On Me" i ...

achieved the European record for the longest note held in a top-40 pop song; he sustains a

chest voice Chest voice is a term used within vocal music. The use of this term varies widely within vocal pedagogical circles. There is no consistent opinion among vocal music professionals regarding the term. Chest voice can be used in relation to: * A part ...

note for 20.2 seconds (eight measures). Its music video was directed by Adam Berg and filmed in Spain.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. A reviewer from ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...

'' described it as a "soaring and powerful

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

Sylvia Patterson Sylvia Patterson (born 8 March 1965) is a Scottish author and music journalist. A former contributor to ''Smash Hits'' and the ''NME'', she is the author of the memoirs ''I'm Not With The Band'' (2016) and ''Same Old Girl'' (2023). Life Patterson ...

from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "And now they're back! Swoon! And they're still REALLY GOOD, if not quite The Revolution. Demolition string-quaver quiver-pop-a-ruddy-kimbo as

Morten Morten is a common male given name in Denmark and Norway. Approximately 22,138 have this name as a given name in Norway and about 52 people have it as a surname. The origin of the surname is less clear. Notable people with the name include: People ...

trills 'staaaaay!!!' and a thousand moonbeams dart from black skies of nu-pop baloney on a clifftop everglade under a wind-machine in Rio like

'NSync NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey ...

and all the rest of it never happened. Or, if you like, it's a bit

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

, 'cos they did the James Bond theme tune once, they were that good. Sigh."

Music video

The music video for "Summer Moved On" was directed by Swedish director Adam Berg and filmed in

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

, Spain at the beginning of March 2000.

''MTV Unplugged'' appearance

In 2017, a-ha appeared on the television series ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

'' and played and recorded acoustic versions of many of their popular songs for the album ''

MTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice ''MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice'' is a live album by the Norwegian band a-ha, released on 6 October 2017 as part of the ''MTV Unplugged'' series. It was recorded live at the Harbour Hall at Ocean Sound Recordings in Giske Municipality, Norway, ...

'' in

Giske Giske may refer to: Places *Giske Municipality, a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Giske (island), a island within Giske Municpiality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway *Giske (village), a village within Giske Municpiality in Møre ...

, Norway, including "Summer Moved On" (featuring

Alison Moyet Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard (; ; born 18 June 1961), formerly known as Alf, is an English singer. Noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice, she came to prominence as a member of the synth-pop duo Yazoo (band), Yazoo (known as Yaz in Nor ...

Track listings

* European CD single # "Summer Moved On" (album edit) – 4:39 # "Barely Hanging On" (album version) – 3:54 * European maxi-CD single # "Summer Moved On" (radio edit) – 4:06 # "Summer Moved On" (album edit) – 4:39 # "Barely Hanging On" – 3:51 # "Summer Moved On" (remix) – 6:02 * UK CD and cassette single # "Summer Moved On" (radio edit) – 4:06 # "Barely Hanging On" (single version) – 3:54 # "Summer Moved On" (remix) – 6:02

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000 singles 2000 songs A-ha songs English-language Norwegian songs Number-one singles in Norway Songs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Warner Music Group singles